A data structure is a way of organizing a collection of data items. Different data structures are more or less efficient in performing operations on a specific collection of data items. Common operations include inserting, deleting, and searching for a data item in the data structure. A data structure's efficiency in performing these so-called “dictionary operations” and other operations is often measured in terms of time and memory space required to complete the operation, with more efficient data structures requiring less time and/or less memory space.
The present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawing in which an element first appears is typically indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.